District 19

Council Member Vallone Announces Restart of Free Queens Senior Transportation Program

This fall, Council Member Paul A. Vallone was joined by Selfhelp Vice President of External Relations and Communications Sandy Myers and local seniors to announce that the free senior transportation program kicked off again on Oct. 10. Vallone is proud to have nearly quadrupled the amount of funding for this successful program since 2017, when he allocated $40,000 to pilot the program.

This year, Council Member Vallone allocated $90,000 for seniors living in his Northeast Queens district, while Speaker Johnson secured another $50,000 at the request of the City Council’s Queens Delegation to provide expanded services to seniors across the entire borough of Queens. In addition, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz allocated $10,000 to the program.

To make an appointment, seniors will call the Clearview Senior Center at 718-224-7888 between the hours of 9 a.m. and noon to schedule their next-day rides. Those who use the service will need to fill out a basic application with demographic information and an emergency contact and provide their destination. When ready for pickup, the senior will call again for their return trip.

Selfhelp Community Services will work in partnership with Four Twos and Central Car Service to schedule rides. The program will operate until the funds are depleted.

“I’m excited to announce the awaited return of our Free Senior Transportation Program, which kicked off again on Thursday, Oct. 10,” said Council Member Paul Vallone. “Since we began the program just four years ago, thousands of rides to and from important medical appointments have been provided to our borough’s seniors ⁠— at no cost to them. In a few years, we’ve been able to nearly quadruple funding amounts for the program, enabling us to provide this vital service to seniors throughout Queens. I thank Speaker Johnson, Queens Borough President Katz and the Queens Delegation for their support and Selfhelp Community Services for always being an outstanding community partner.”